Scuba
Scuba's JournalEverybody and their super pac (if they have one) was sure begging for money today.
I've got over 50 emails from every organization left of the RNC asking for money today. I wonder how many address a single issue of policy that doesn't lead with "The awful Republicans just ..."
Wisconsin: Squat Wanker's 33 pieces of legislation designed to cripple honest elections
http://journaltimes.com/news/state-and-regional/timeline-changes-scott-walker-has-made-to-voting-and-elections/article_315acad4-2cba-5161-a003-c229441d9663.html?comment_form=trueChanges range from the first bill on voting rights passed in 2011 clarifying how municipal clerks must handle absentee ballots to the latest pair of bills signed earlier in December reorganizing the Government Accountability Board and lifting caps on how campaigns are financed by businesses and political action committees.
The most changes were made during the 2013-14 session when Walker signed 16 bills into law. He has signed seven into law so far this session, which ends officially in January, 2017. Scroll through the timeline and check out the legislative memos linked with each act.
Unfortunately I can't embed the slide show detailing this legislation, but it's at the link.
After No Tamir Rice Case Indictment, Bernie Sanders Calls For Federal Investigation
Despite DU's resident constitutional scholar stating (while failing to back up) the DOJ has no authority to investigate, Bernie is calling for just that. Funny no one else has mentioned how DOJ doesn't have such authority.
http://www.ibtimes.com/after-no-tamir-rice-case-indictment-bernie-sanders-calls-federal-investigation-12-2242354
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized an Ohio grand jury's decision Monday not to indict two police officers in connection with the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. I think we need to have a federal investigation to take a hard look at that. But I will also tell you that we need, nationally, to take a hard look at the use of force, Sanders told MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry Monday.
Rice was shot in November 2014 by Officer Timothy Loehmann, who has said he believed the child was a threat due to his size and because the toy gun Rice was carrying looked real. After the shooting, Loehmann and fellow officer Frank Garmback realized the gun was a toy.
Sanders, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, has spoken out about police shootings before and has made criminal justice reform an important aspect of his platform. Earlier this month, he called for an investigation into the Chicago Police Department after a video of police officers shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was released in November. The Vermont senator also called on Chicago officials to resign if they were involved in suppressing the video, and questions continue to arise about how long Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel knew the details of the video.
50,000 posts and the only mind I’ve changed is my own (reposted following lock)
(I'm reposting (with minor edits) as my original post was locked.)
But then that was the whole point when I joined DU in April of 2010 - to learn more about American politics, our parties and our candidates, our economic and social justice problems and the pathways to fix them.
Ive been on the left side of the political spectrum since the early 1970s when I was serving in southeast Asia in the Air Force, and began seeing through the daily ration of bullshit. In the years that followed, work and family responsibilities didnt leave much time for politics, so despite my interest and political bent I had only a superficial knowledge of what was happening. Most of what I knew I learned by reading my states largest newspapers. On many issues I had been led astray and was ill-informed.
Then I retired in early 2008 and the free time allowed me to become much more active in politics. I campaigned for Barack Obama and was thrilled when he won. The day of his inauguration I felt more hope for my country than I ever had. Then came a series of disappointments some of his cabinet picks and his failure to advocate for single-payer healthcare - or even a public option - really stuck in my craw.
(One cabinet pick I did like was Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I was a big fan of hers due to her advocacy for universal healthcare. I felt she would do a great job as SOS. I could have easily supported her for President had she prevailed over Obama in the 2008 primaries.)
Then in 2010 I found DU (while searching for Ducks Unlimited of all things). I was hooked on the first day and joined immediately. Wow - a progressive community discussing the issues without the lies and disruptions that right-wingers inflicted on the other sites on which I had been posting. I fell in love with DU and still love DU.
Theres no better site for vetting the information that the media spoon-feeds us every day. News stories are exposed as propaganda and alternative points of view are posted without the filters imposed by the corporate media. I learned that many of the truths I had long held were, in fact, bullshit.
Right now DU is fractured as supporters of the respective primary camps duke it out. This is a healthy thing and Im glad its happening. Neither of our candidates is perfect and its great that we can learn about the positives and negatives of both so that we can make the most informed choices when we cast our votes. I dont expect to sway anyone but I do appreciate the opportunity to post about both the positives and negatives of each of our candidates.
My own mind was changed when I learned that the Kochs and their friends founded the Democratic Leadership Council, when I learned how the leadership of the party Id long supported had been infiltrated by moneyed interests and had abandoned working people.
So my mind has been changed, and perhaps Ive provided a bit of ammunition for others who are like-minded. Thats whats so great about DU.
Let the truth be your guide, and theres no better place for determining what is true and what is not than Democratic Underground. Long may we post.
Be back later; Ive (still) got a whole lot of snow to move.
How Donald Trump destroyed the Republican Party in 2015
Really fun read, made me smile again and again. I sure hope the title premise holds true ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-donald-trump-is-destroying-the-republican-party/2015/12/28/747668f6-ad9e-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html
Am I overstating Trumps impact, given that not a single vote has been cast? Hardly. Im not sure its possible to exaggerate how the Trump phenomenon has torn the party apart, revealing a chasm between establishment and base that is far too wide to bridge with stale Reagan-era rhetoric. Can you picture the Trump legions meekly falling in line behind Jeb Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.)? I cant either.
...
What Trump has done is call out the establishment on years of dishonest rhetoric. Progressives often asked why so many working-class whites went against their own economic interests by supporting the GOP. The answer is that Republicans appealed to these voters on cultural grounds, subtly exploiting their resentments and fears.
...
Enter Trump, who has the temerity to point out that the party establishment says one thing but does another. He launched his campaign by calling the GOPs bluff on immigration: If the 11 million people here without documents are really illegal, as the party loudly proclaims, then send them home. Other candidates were put in the position of having to explain why, after claiming that President Obama was somehow soft on immigration, their position on allowing the undocumented to stay is basically the same.
50,000 posts and the only mind I’ve changed is my own
But then that was the whole point when I joined DU in April of 2010 - to learn more about American politics, our parties and our candidates, our economic and social justice problems and the pathways to fix them.
Ive been on the left side of the political spectrum since the early 1970s when I was serving in southeast Asia in the Air Force, and began seeing through the daily ration of bullshit. In the years that followed, work and family responsibilities didnt leave much time for politics, so despite my interest and political bent I had only a superficial knowledge of what was happening. Most of what I knew I learned by reading my states largest newspapers. On many issues I had been led astray and was ill-informed.
Then I retired in early 2008 and the free time allowed me to become much more active in politics. I campaigned for Barack Obama and was thrilled when he won. The day of his inauguration I felt more hope for my country than I ever had. Then came a series of disappointments some of his cabinet picks and his failure to advocate for single-payer healthcare - or even a public option - really stuck in my craw.
(One cabinet pick I did like was Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I was a big fan of hers due to her advocacy for universal healthcare. I felt she would do a great job as SOS. I could have easily supported her for President had she prevailed over Obama in the 2008 primaries.)
Then in 2010 I found DU (while searching for Ducks Unlimited of all things). I was hooked on the first day and joined immediately. Wow - a progressive community discussing the issues without the lies and disruptions that right-wingers inflicted on the other sites on which I had been posting. I fell in love with DU and still love DU.
Theres no better site for vetting the information that the media spoon-feeds us every day. News stories are exposed as propaganda and alternative points of view are posted without the filters imposed by the corporate media. I learned that many of the truths I had long held were, in fact, bullshit.
Right now DU is fractured as supporters of Hillary and Bernie duke it out. This is a healthy thing and Im glad its happening. Neither of these candidates is perfect and its great that we can learn about the positives and negatives of both so that we can make the most informed choices when we cast our votes. I dont expect to sway any Hillary fans but I do appreciate the opportunity to post about the positives and negatives of each.
But my own mind was changed when I learned of Hillarys support for the Iraq War Resolution, when I learned of the Kochs and Clintons teamig up to found the Democratic Leadership Council, when I learned how the leadership of the party Id long supported had been infiltrated by moneyed interests and had abandoned working people.
So my mind has been changed, and perhaps Ive provided a bit of ammunition for others who are like-minded. Thats whats so great about DU.
Let the truth be your guide, and theres no better place for determining what is true and what is not than Democratic Underground. Long may we post.
Be back later; Ive got a whole lot of snow to move.
Hillary supporter's new meme: Evolution in thinking is impossible
At least that's what you'd think reading all the posts complaining about Bernie trying to change the minds of Trump supporters.
The cognitive dissonance is strong at Camp Weathervane.
A few others named "Most Admired" in Gallup's poll
Source1970: Richard Nixon
1971: Richard Nixon
1972: Richard Nixon
1973: Henry Kissinger
1974: Henry Kissinger
1975: Henry Kissinger
1982: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher
1983: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher
1984: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher
1985: Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan
1986: Ronald Reagan
1987: Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan (no mention of Nancy's astrologer)
1988: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher
1989: George H. W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher
1990: George H. W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher
1991: George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush
1992: George H. W. Bush
2001: George W. Bush
2002: George W. Bush
2003: George W. Bush
2004: George W. Bush
2005: George W. Bush
2006: George W. Bush
2007: George W. Bush
Perhaps this name recognition contest isn't that great an indicator of personal character and courage.